


Of First Dates and Nostalgia

by The_Ghost_King



Series: Of Dates and ... [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Boys Kissing, Brooklyn, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky Barnes's Metal Arm, Cemetery, Consent is Sexy, Dancing, Eventful Date Basically, First Dates, Fluff, James Calls Tony "Doll" and My Gay Heart Is Thriving, M/M, Not A Fix-It, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Protective Bucky Barnes, The Author Regrets Nothing, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Nicknames People, Tony Stark cares, not team Cap friendly, they go dancing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-17 06:24:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16511036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Ghost_King/pseuds/The_Ghost_King
Summary: Tony was looking at his lips, then at his eyes and then away. Unsure, shy, worried. Biting his lips and fidgeting with his fingers and James finds it impossible not to be charmed.“What’d ya say doll?” James asks and he enjoys seeing the blush that takes over Tony’s cheeks and neck at the nickname. Some other part of his brain is already wondering about every other possible way he can make Tony blush.“I,” Tony starts, “I was wondering if you’d like to go out to dinner, with me, sometime? As, like, a date?” He glanced at James and then quickly averted his gaze, “if you want?” and James stays silent for a little bit, feeling a warm tingle spread through him at the admonition that Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, philanthropist, superhero, would want to go out with him. A deranged POW who hadn’t been Killed in Action but instead became Hydra’s little tool. He’s smiling wide but Tony hasn’t looked at him and is taking his silence as a rejection and just as he takes a step back James grabs his hand, gently, and says, “I’d love to go out with you sometime.”





	Of First Dates and Nostalgia

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is something I've been working on on the side.  
> Most of my focus nowadays goes to [The Truth Untold](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15753642).  
> I haven't really edited the story and the Winter Soldier's existence and sentience are barely discussed because I had to write some fluffy heartfelt stuff and didn't want to focus on the details.  
> Please enjoy and leave a comment!

Tony was looking at his lips, then at his eyes and then away. Unsure, shy, worried. Biting his lips and fidgeting with his fingers and James finds it impossible not to be charmed. 

“What’d ya say doll?” James asks and he enjoys seeing the blush that takes over Tony’s cheeks and neck at the nickname. Some other part of his brain is already wondering about every other possible way he can make Tony blush. 

“I,” Tony starts, “I was wondering if you’d like to go out to dinner, with me, sometime? As, like, a date?” He glanced at James and then quickly averted his gaze, “if you want?” and James stays silent for a little bit, feeling a warm tingle spread through him at the admonition that Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, philanthropist, superhero, would want to go out with him. A deranged POW who hadn’t been Killed in Action but instead became Hydra’s little tool. He’s smiling wide but Tony hasn’t looked at him and is taking his silence as a rejection and just as he takes a step back James grabs his hand, gently, and says, “I’d love to go out with you sometime.” 

Tony smiles and there is disbelieve in his eyes, as if he doesn't understand, doesn't get why anyone would ever go out with him. James wants to tell him he’s made lists of reasons why Tony Stark is the only thing keeping him sane on his worst days but he thinks now’s not the time. Instead he watches Tony back out of the room, smiling, looking a little giddy and telling him that JARVIS will let him know when to get ready and what for. Once he can’t hear Tony’s footsteps anymore he does a little spin and throws his arms up in ecstasy but he doesn't yell, in case someone hears him. He just exists like that for a little bit feeling on top of the world for the first time in 70 years.

\---

James remembers his first weeks back on American soil well. He remembers his first hours back on American soil even better.

When he was unfrozen the first thing he’d asked T’Challa was why. He’d been presented with a clean bill of health, a pardon and a new metal arm. He hadn’t thought that he deserved any of it and yet he’d gotten it. He had known that he should be thanking Tony Stark for it. He just hadn’t known how to go about it.

Initially, he’d gone to Steve to ask what Tony would like, figuring that his old team would know him best. He’d been very  _ very _ wrong.

The Rogues spat on Tony with every one of their words. He had gone to Steve first, asking his former best friend what it was Tony liked. Steve had looked sheepish and implied that Tony didn’t need a token of thanks.

“He’s a billionaire Buck, he’s already got everything.”

Clint and Wanda had been in the room when he asked. Clint slurred about how, “This is the least Stark can do after fucking all of us over so royally. He’s got everything to repent for.” Wanda’s eyes flickered red, her fingers glowed and James could feel what was left of the Winter Soldier pressing at the back of his mind. Telling him to stay on the defence, keep his guard up, access threats and get himself a weapon. 

“Stark,” she says, spitting out his name venomously, “is a parasite. He leeches off of the effort of those around him and uses it to make himself shine brighter so the world continues to ignore his heartlessness,” her words are made of poison and James almost wants to physically recoil.

_ Stand, _ the harsher part of him reminds him,  _ Do not show weakness in front of those like her, they will use it against you. _

Maximoff reminded him of the harshness of his Hydra handlers and he didn’t want anything to do with her. James had kept his composure throughout the ordeal and he’d let Natalia patronise him when she spoke of Tony and him not having any obligations to the man. Natalia forgot that James, as the Soldier, had taught her everything and that the Soldier was so much  _ better _ at everything that she was known for. Compared to him her skills were rudimentary and useless. Compared to him little Natalia was fragile and easy to break. She had seemingly forgotten this when she told James that Stark wouldn’t appreciate anything that he hadn’t come up with himself. Too engrossed by his own ego, too busy being a narcissist to care about anyone else. Maybe she thought that because his Hydra programming was gone so was all his skill but her own arrogance would cost her dearly.

James didn’t bother with Lang’s opinion and he bypassed Falcon altogether. By that time he had come to the conclusion that the Rogues' opinion of Tony was warped beyond repair.

So he asked others, he asked Shuri and T’Challa about the man who had made these pardons possible. He asked them about the man who was fixing mistakes that James had partially caused and every answer had made him believe that Tony Stark could never be the narcissistic, egotistical monster that the others made him out to be.

James had been unsure of his opinion right up until he’d actually met the man himself.

Tony had welcomed them at the airport, which was unexpected by all of the Rogues. A woman accompanied him, she had stone in her eyes. Her hair was black and she wore black as well. One of her hands was in Tony’s back pocket and she was looking at all of them as if they were shit on the bottom of her boots. She grinned at James when she saw him, feral and dangerous. James had let the Soldier bleed through as he smiled back, he’d enjoyed seeing her smile become even more predatory. The Soldier hummed his approval somewhere in the back of their mind.

\---

The Compound was a nice place to live, even though James, just as the other Rogues, was living in the slightly less luxurious part of the building. The others complained about it but James thought they needed to stop whining, at least they had a roof over their head.

The Soldier - James but then slightly more threatening so that people (The Rogues) would continue to fear him forever - had threatened to rip out Clint’s throat multiple times already and if Wanda would send even a flicker of her fucked up mind control magic his way she’d have daggers sticking out of her skull. Natalia was still trying to placate him and he’d come  _ this _ close to ramming her into a wall James had stopped himself in time, the clean up would have been annoying. They were also supposed to be adjusting, volatile behaviour wouldn’t promote that. He would never get to see Tony, never get to thank him, if he wasn't deemed safe. 

So the Soldier part of his brain daydreamed about the harm he could inflict on this mess of a group whilst James went to his therapist and came to terms with his past as the Winter Soldier. It’s an interesting dynamic and everything but James still hadn’t seen much of Tony after living in the Compound for a good few months and he wanted to at least catch a glimpse of the elusive billionaire, even if it was only for a second.

He did catch a glimpse of Tony eventually, more than a glimpse actually.

It was late at night the only reason James was up was because he felt particularly restless and needed something to keep him occupied. So he’d dragged himself to the common room couch and asked JARVIS to put something on. He was absentmindedly watching  _ Lord of the Rings _ when the elevator door opened and Tony stumbled out. 

His hair was dishevelled and there was motor oil and grease on his shirt and in his hair. He looked adorably rumpled and with one look at him in this state the Soldier, aka the less well-adjusted part of his brain, stated, ‘ _ He’s Mine.’ _

**Oh Shit.**

\---

After this, James was both trying to avoid Tony and pay more attention to him. What he didn’t expect however was that Tony would come to them.

“Hey Terminator,” Tony started and James tensed. He turned around slowly to face Tony.

“Stark,” he said and noticed the tiny flinch that Tony did although he had tried to hide it well.

“I was wondering,” Tony said, “if that arm of yours was in need of maintenance?”

James had been perplexed at Tony’s offer but he’d still gotten up and followed Tony to his workshop. Like the fool he knew he was. He had accepted his faith rather easily.

From then on out he spent a lot of time in the workshop. Coming down for arm maintenance and over time, for fun. He liked hanging out with Tony and talking to the bots.

They discussed James’ past, the memories of his childhood. The dichotomy between Stevie and Steve, between Bucky and James and everything in between. They talked about Brooklyn, his family, Rebecca and his mum and everyone else. One of the boys he thought he could stay with maybe, but then the war had happened and he’d never get to see any of it anymore.

“I don’t even know where they were buried, my family that is, if there are any living descendants or whatever happened to Joe, Joseph. The fella I was seeing at the time.”

“Wait? You and Rogers weren’t together?”

“Steve and I? Nah, would feel like being with my brother.” 

“Well that’s something everyone, and I mean  _ everyone, _ got wrong then.”

“Makes you wonder about what else they got wrong, “ James mumbles, “And about whom.”

“Yeah.”

That’s part of their conversations and the rest is Tony rambling about science or explaining things to James and he was pining a little bit. Then pining a lot and he never thought it would go anywhere.

Until the fateful day that Tony asked him out.

\---

Their date is later that week and James asks JARVIS to pick out a suit for him whilst he gets ready. He washes his hair and puts it in a braid that rests on his right shoulder. He shaves and carefully puts the blue suit with a black undershirt on that JARVIS chose and waits in his room for Tony to come and get him. He’d initially thought that he’d wait in the common area but JARVIS had assured him that Tony would want to pick him up from his room and escort him himself instead of having James lounge around in the living room first. So he waited, talked to JARVIS and tried to keep the nervous fidgeting to a minimum, it didn’t really work. He was nervous and excited at the same time. Curious about what Tony had in store for them this evening and so very happy to have been asked out by Tony at all.

At six pm sharp there was a courteous knock on the door and when James opened it there stood Tony Stark. Dressed in a black suit with a white undershirt, the top button unbuttoned and no tie. The undershirt accentuated the bronze tone of his skin and James kind of wanted to lean forward and trail kisses up and down the other man’s neck. Tony coughed and James’ eyes snapped back to his face, he could feel the blush rising on his cheeks and felt thoroughly embarrassed.

“Tony,” he said with a smile, “you look wonderful.” Tony smiled and said, “You’re not so bad yourself Snowflake.” He grabbed James by the arm and led him downstairs, taking the lift to the garage. Where a limousine was waiting for them and before James knew it they were driving away from the tower towards a destination of Tony’s choosing.

James recognised Brooklyn the moment he stepped out of the car. He might not have been back in about seventy years and a lot had changed but somewhere it was still the same as he remembered it. The same gritty feeling to the streets, the same feel to the environment. Even after all these years it still felt like coming home. 

“Brooklyn?” he questioned. Tony just smiled mysteriously and said, “It’s time for Brooklyn to get its golden boy back, is all.”

They walked along the streets, going further and further into the less wealthy parts of town until they stopped in an ally that was still breathtakingly familiar, even after all these years.

James felts the tears burning behind his eyes when he looked at the familiar apartment. It didn’t seem lived in, part of such an old part of town that they had never bothered to renovate it.

“How- How’d you find this place? Why?” James asked incredulously and all Tony did once more was smile.

“I’ve heard you mention that you missed this place, or what it used to represent, so I figured you might want to see it,” Tony responds and although it’s phrased like a statement James hears the question that shines through. 

Tony’s asking him if he did well. If James is happy and James really is. He really fucking is, he’s been happy since Tony asked him out and he’s even happier now. Because Tony  _ cares _ so much and he went out of his way to bring him here and it’s sweet. There’s no other response than this.

He turns towards Tony, cups his face and lets his eyes flicker from Tony’s eyes to his lips and back up.

“Can I kiss you?” he asks in a tone so low that he can feel his vocal cords vibrating in his throat.  Tony is staring intently at his lips, seemingly lost in thought until he jerks himself back into reality. He blinks up at James owlishly and whispers his assent. James closes the distance between them.

Tony’s lips are soft, like rose petals, and James has imagined this moment so much that actually experiencing it feels like freezing time.

Like compressing hours and days and weeks and months into one single moment. It’s a short kiss but when they part James feels almost as disoriented as he usually got when Hydra pulled him out of cryo. 

He’s never associated that feeling with something nice before. 

He wants to hold onto it for forever.

He knows that his cheeks and neck must be flushed and that he probably looks like some swooning maiden in this moment but he doesn’t care. Tony’s smiling back at him and his cheeks are a little flushed and he’s smiling so wide that his eyes are squinted together and his crow’s-feet are visible.

James is mesmerised and he hopes that he can make Tony look like this for longer.

\---

“Wait, so this isn’t the only reason why we came to Brooklyn?” James asks. Tony looks at him as if he’s grown a second head.

“Of course not Winter Wonderland. What kind of date would this be if I didn’t take you out to do something  _ fun _ .”

“Fun like what?”

“Fun,” Tony says, “like this.” He points to the building they’re next to. James doesn’t recognise it, at all. Nor does he understand its function.

“And what exactly is, this?” James asks and Tony opens the door. Old music, as in  _ swing _ music. James recognised these songs from back in the day and he gaped at Tony wordlessly.

“‘Doll, are you taking me  _ dancing _ ?” James asks, something like awe in his voice.

“I sure am,” Tony says cheekily.

“Come in, come in. Snowflakes first.” he continues and holds the door open for James. When James walks into the building it feels like he’s gone back in time. The swing music, men and women dancing like they would back in the day. People at the bar, or sitting in tables at the back.

“How’d you even find this place?” James asked, in awe.

“Lots of digging and JARVIS,” Tony replied cheekily and James knew there had to be some sort of weird dopey grin on his face. His entire body was vibrating with the thrill of it. Of how much Tony cared and how happy he was to be sharing something of his past with Tony like this.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“ _ Like it _ ,” James says incredulously. “Doll, I  _ love _ it.” and he leans in and kisses Tony softly on the lips. Then he holds out his hand for Tony to take and grins.

“May I have this dance?” Tony doesn’t hesitate to take his hand.

“You may.”

\---

After the dancing James isn’t expecting Tony to take him anywhere else.

“More doll,” he says, “You’re spoiling me.” Tony licks his lips and it makes James wants to kiss him again, so he does.

“Well, some people just deserve to be spoiled and what else is the point of being a billionaire Snowflake, you’ve gotta use what you have.”

“I guess so,” James says. Then asks, “And? What’s our last stop?” Tony seems hesitant when he replies.

“It’s a bit more … sensitive. Just, you can leave at any time, okay James. I’m not forcing you into anything you don’t want just, I’m going for something else here.”

This does nothing to calm James’ nerves but he powers through. Everywhere else Tony has taken him tonight was well thought out and careful. He trusts him.

“I trust you, I’m sure whatever it is will be fine.” Both of them know that he’s saying this partially to reassure himself but Tony doesn’t react to it any differently so James decides that he’s not going to think about it either.

When they arrive at their destination it feels like someone is squeezing James’ heart.

Tony has taken him to a cemetery.

Before James can do anything Tony says, “This isn’t what you think, I promise. My parents are buried in uptown New York, somewhere fancy. This cemetery is for you to gain closure. That's why I brought you here.”

“For me to gain closure? What do you-" James’ eyes widen in realisation. 

“This is where-. Becca? My, my  _ family. _ My  _ mother.” _ James’ voice breaks on the last word and there’s a wetness on his face. Tears are trickling down his cheeks as he looks at Tony and says, “Take me to their graves.”

Tony leads the way in silence. The graves are deep into the cemetery and when they do finally reach them Tony steps aside to give James some privacy with his family and James kneels before the graves.

_ Winifred C. Barnes  _ one reads,  _ Rebecca P. Barnes _ is written across the gravestone next to it and James doesn’t realise that he’s crying until he sees the drops of water appear on the dirt. 

He’d known that they were dead but this felt so incredibly final. There’s no coming back from a grave. He cries and cries and cries. Sits in front of their graves and tries to remember every snippet of their life together. But things keep slipping through the cracks. 

He remembers his mother’s laugh but he can’t remember Rebecca’s eye colour. He remembers what Rebecca’s favourite dress looked like and how she used to follow him and Steve around when they were younger but he can’t remember if it was his mum or someone else who always baked cherry pie on the first Sunday of the month.

He doesn’t know how long he must have sat there. If it was hours or mere seconds but when he finally gets up and wipes the tears from his face it feels like a burden is lifted off his shoulders. He turns around and Tony’s still standing there. Arms wrapped around himself and hunched over. When he hears James move his head snaps up and there’s something fragile and uncertain in his eyes.

James walks towards him and wraps him in his arms, holding him tight.

“Thank you,” he says and his voice is hoarse.

“There’s one last thing,” Tony says and James doesn’t know what to expect, doesn’t know what Tony could possibly still want to have him experience, can’t possibly think of anyone else on this graveyard that Tony would want James to know about.

The last grave they visit is Joseph’s.

James looks at Tony in disbelieve. 

“How?” he asks and Tony taps his fingers against his chest as he says, “I have my ways. Figured that you might want to know. He didn’t die during the war. Died some fifty years after. Never got married, never had kids. He’s the one that opened the place where we were dancing just now. Initially named it  _ Jamie’s _ after you, but the person who bought it from him changed the name and-”

James cuts Tony off by kissing him softly and Tony stills in his arms.

“Thank you,” James says again and Tony mumbles a ‘You’re welcome.’

They walk out of the cemetery hand in hand. 

James thinks that this can be the start of something wonderful.

**Author's Note:**

> Should I write more for this? Or nah?  
> Also the lady at the airport with Tony was Jessica Jones, I don't really know much about her but I had a feeling that she's the challenging protective type So.
> 
> Joseph wasn't really inspired by anyone or anything if anyone's wondering. But I've always liked the idea of Bucky knowing who he was going to be with after the war and fighting not only for Steve and his family but also for his future with his man, y'know? He seems like the type of person to really care about stuff like that.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed and until my next work!
> 
> [ My Tumblr ](http://the--ghost--king.tumblr.com/)  
> [My Twitter](https://twitter.com/JustA_BlackBoy_)  
> (HMU, maybe?)


End file.
